We think there will be two girl ducks and one boy duck or two boy ducks and one girl duck.
Friday, May 10, 2013 The week has been rainy, and I wasn’t able to make it outside to the pond until Wednesday. I only saw the boy ducks on the pond, so I assumed that Val was sitting on her eggs in the shelter. I peeked in, and much to my surprise, I didn’t find her and there were only 2 eggs. Your great questions got me thinking: How are the eggs staying warm? I was concerned that I hadn’t seen Val in awhile, so my students and I first started asking the science teachers about her whereabouts. I was surprised that no one seemed to know too much about Val, or for that matter, the process of hatching the duck eggs. However, I continued to ASK … and ask, and ask! Word got around that I was on the hunt for Val, and one of our custodians stopped me in the hall this morning. He said he had found Val in the grass when he was cutting the yard. He took me out to see her, and she is tucked in the corner, sitting on her nest of eggs! Here’s what we learned this week:
Val did NOT lay her eggs in the shelter. Even after asking around, I don’t know what those eggs were/are!
Val made a nest in the grass by digging a hole.
She shed many of her own feathers to keep the eggs warm. I saw feathers all around her on the ground.
If you don’t know something, keep asking questions!
I made friends with new people as a result of this project … how fun!
Val on her eggs
Friday, May 3, 2013 Greetings! I am an 8th grade language arts teacher at Keith Valley Middle School. When I heard about your “Hatching Chicks” project, I thought it would be fun to join. Each spring, Keith and Val, our mallard ducks, return to our school to lay their eggs and launch their ducklings into the world. I have a great view of our pond outside my window. However, this year, I decided to actually go outside and observe what is going on. So far, this is what I have noticed:
This year, we have a second male duck. We are calling him Lee (get it … Keith, Val, Lee!). I think it’s
neat that Keith and Val have him along for the journey!
The eggs are in a shelter that was built specifically for the ducks.
There are only 3 eggs. I read online that there should be more. I am worried about natural predators.
I am surprised that Keith and Val let me get so close to the shelter that houses their eggs without raising much of a fuss.
The males, Keith and Lee, are more colorful than the female, Val. I took this picture while they were preening. Preening is a bird's way of grooming its feathers to keep them in the best condition.
Questions from Ms. Johnson's Kindergartners:
Questions from EA Kindergarteners:
Friday, May 10, 2013
The week has been rainy, and I wasn’t able to make it outside to the pond until Wednesday. I only saw the boy ducks on the pond, so I assumed that Val was sitting on her eggs in the shelter. I peeked in, and much to my surprise, I didn’t find her and there were only 2 eggs. Your great questions got me thinking: How are the eggs staying warm?
I was concerned that I hadn’t seen Val in awhile, so my students and I first started asking the science teachers about her whereabouts. I was surprised that no one seemed to know too much about Val, or for that matter, the process of hatching the duck eggs. However, I continued to ASK … and ask, and ask! Word got around that I was on the hunt for Val, and one of our custodians stopped me in the hall this morning. He said he had found Val in the grass when he was cutting the yard. He took me out to see her, and she is tucked in the corner, sitting on her nest of eggs!
Here’s what we learned this week:
Friday, May 3, 2013
Greetings! I am an 8th grade language arts teacher at Keith Valley Middle School. When I heard about your “Hatching Chicks” project, I thought it would be fun to join. Each spring, Keith and Val, our mallard ducks, return to our school to lay their eggs and launch their ducklings into the world. I have a great view of our pond outside my window. However, this year, I decided to actually go outside and observe what is going on.
So far, this is what I have noticed:
The males, Keith and Lee, are more colorful than the female, Val. I took this picture while they were preening.
Preening is a bird's way of grooming its feathers to keep them in the best condition.